This is the first in a series of posts about how to create an effective resume. Yes, really....another one of them.

I know, there are thousands of resume experts out there competing for your attention. Many of them say the basically same thing, although possibly in different terms. Half make you feel like writing a good resume is so intimidating you couldn't possibly do it on your own - so you really need to hire a professional...they just happen to be available. The other half says you really can do it on your own...but only if you buy their {book, DVD, etc}

I am writing a series of articles that will give many of you the information you need to write a good resume all on your own - nothing to buy....EVER

After writing resumes and/or training people to write their own resume for 20+ years, I have found there are some basics that are always effective. I do not focus on the most current trends in resume writing, instead I focus on the basics that will will stand the test of time. I refer to this as the "little black dress" of resume writing. This theory works for:

• A thriving economy
• Times of record high unemployment
• First job
• Changing careers
• Returning to workforce after a break
• Career position
• Blue-collar jobs
• White-collar positions

The same principles apply whether you are applying for a career position, a temporary job, an internship or a volunteer position. These are all "jobs", just different types of jobs.

Before beginning to write a resume, it is important to figure out just what we are trying to accomplish.

There only one reason to write a resume: to get an interview. That's it. Period.

When an employer is looking at your resume (or application) he is looking for one thing - a reason why he doesn't *have* to interview you.

For a single position, there are between 20 and 200 resumes submitted. Note: This varies wildly depending on the job, the job market, etc. Even for internships and volunteer position, employers will receive far more applicants than there are positions available. There is no way an employer will actually consider all of these candidates, so they read the resumes looking for a reason to not have to consider an applicant at all.

Imagine Bob sitting in HR with a stack of resumes a foot deep on his desk. Bob has been told that the manager will only schedule 10 interviews. Bob now has to go through all of these and pick out the best 10 applicants. While each company has it's own methods...many of them go something like this: scan through a resume until it can be placed in one of three piles:

• Must Interview - this person is so right for the job, we'd be crazy to not interview this person
• Possible Interview - meets the basic requirements
• No Interview - does not meet basic qualifications or would not be a good fit
  

Bob now has a smaller stack of resumes to work on...but there may be 20 resumes in the Must Interview pile. That means that all of those very qualified people in the Possible Interview pile are no longer in consideration.

It is not enough to just avoid giving Bob a reason to put you in the "No Interview" pile. You have to make sure there are plenty of reasons for Bob to put your resume in the "We'd be crazy to not interview this one" pile.

Of course, Bob must further narrow down the Must Interview pile to the 10 interview slots. This is where all sort of little details can influence the decision. A misspelled word, perhaps the difference between 'WordPerfect' & 'Microsoft Word', the choice of paper...all sorts of picky details can make the difference between two otherwise perfect applicants.

Future installments in this series will look at all the details of how to be in the Must Interview pile and (equally important) get Bob's attention when he is selecting resumes for the limited interview slots.

Stay tuned...